Leyla en Mejnun O. - Dilan Yurdakul

Dilan is working on a new musical and in this Work in Progress she shows what she has created so far, especially for the O. audience.

Leyla and Mejnun is a famous love story that is known in the Middle East and Bollywood as the ultimate classic. Even Shakespeare got inspiration from it for Romeo and Juliet. Mejnun, whose name means 'the madman', cries out his sorrow and speaks beautiful poetic lines.

In this version, theatre maker Dilan Yurdakul finally gives Leyla a voice. Here, love is the path to independence: Mejnun chooses his love and thus becomes an individual, so strong that he no longer needs Leyla. In this adaptation, Dilan turns the tables, so that Leyla can tell her own story after 600 years.

Dilan shares her innovative view on the old story and investigates how Leyla's feelings fit with her own experiences. Does she recognize Leyla's pain and love? With new lyrics and a mix of Turkish songs, rap and spoken word, Dilan gives Leyla a voice. What does it mean for a woman to be independent, to break away from her environment and to choose her own path in love?